Brooke took a beatdown and crushed it!

Brooke has been coming to Starke CrossFit for two years now. Originally her mother had encouraged her to do something about her health, she tried other local gyms in the city but realized they were not for her. Starke was close to home so she decided to give it a try, and now two years later we just can’t get rid of her!

Her initial love for Starke was due to the fact that every day was a full body workout, there was no leg day or chest day; it was always a full body workout. The workouts were tough, varied, and led by coaches that worked with you on proper movement and intensity relative to your fitness level.

Two years ago Brooke walked through these doors weighing in at 300lbs. “Ever since I was young I could never fit into the clothes appropriate for my age. I wanted to be able to walk into any store out there and be able to buy whatever clothing I’d like because they would have my size available,” Brooke shares. She had goals and determination to do something about her weight, but it was truly the first 60-Day Challenge that gave her the kick-start to put those goals in action.

In September 2014, Brooke started her first ever 60-Day Challenge and weighed in at 270lbs. She learned all about clean eating, training, and staying true to your goals. She set out on 60 full days of clean eating, she cut out all alcohol and eating out, and she worked out in the gym 3-5 times a week. When the challenge was done she not only completed it but she won the challenge and her final weigh in was 235lbs! It was the first time in years Brooke felt driven to chase her goals and had the motivation to lead her to success.

Less than half a year later, Starke decided to host another 60-Day Challenge starting in March 2015. Brooke of course jumped on board with even more goals to met and exceed. She weighed in this time at 239lbs, stuck with the clean eating, no alcohol or eating out, and started working out 5-6 times a week while fitting in yoga 5 times a week to encourage stretching and allow her to continue her training comfortably. Brooke destroyed her second challenge completing the 60 days, her final weigh in being 215.6lbs, her percentage of weight lost being 10.02%.

“Being focused on my health and fitness has changed everything in the last two years. It’s unreal to think of what I used to be able to do (or lack thereof) compared to what I can do now. When I first started at Starke it would take me 15 minutes to run a mile, now it takes me 15 minutes to run double that, I couldn’t skip and now can do double unders, I couldn’t even hang on a bar from the rack and now I can do beat swings and knees to elbows, and my Olympic lifting is way heavier and way faster. Everything is so much easier, but most importantly it’s more enjoyable.” – Brooke Pluta

Moving forward Brooke is definitely focused on continuing her clean eating habits, keeping the “eating out” at a minimum, and going to the gym several times a week as it’s now become part of her schedule.

Having achieved so many of her goals to date, Brooke has placed some new ones to strive for. She would like to do a weightlifting competition and to reach her 100lbs weight loss goal by weighing in at 200lbs. Last, and as mentioned above, she would like to walk in to any store and buy whatever item of clothing she wants because they have her size available. All amazing goals, and all achievable!

“Starke changed my life forever, and the 60 Day Challenge was my motivation to get started for real this time! Two years ago I wouldn’t have believed you if you said that I could drop 100lbs and feel this great. It’s been hard work, but the coaches and the other athletes at Starke make it real, achievable, and fun.” – Brooke Pluta